For Outbreak Linked to PA, E. coli Lawyer Says Victims Need Health Warning
In response to an E. coli outbreak centered in Pennsylvania, E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzker is calling on the maker of Seltzer’s Lebanon bologna to notify customers who have been sickened about the long-term risks of infection by this pathogen.
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Pritzker said in a press release that Palmyra Bologna Company of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, should implement a public awareness campaign to inform victims of E. coli O157:H7 and their loved ones to consult with their physicians about getting the testing and treatment that their good health demands.“As the entity that should have prevented this outbreak in the first place, it is only appropriate that the company explain the risks and pay for needed medical care that could otherwise be neglected,'' said Pritzker, who represent victims of E. coli poisoning and other types of foodborne illness.
Health officials have associated Palmyra’s Seltzer's brand beef Lebanon bologna products with an outbreak that has sickened 14 people in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey and North Carolina. Each year in the United States, more than 265,000 people are sickened by E. coli O157:H7 or other shiga toxin-producing types of E. coli. The vast majority of these people have illness previously thought to have low risk for future complications, but recent research proves there is elevated, long-term risk for hypertension, kidney impairment and cardiovascular disease that should be checked annually.
The research by Dr. William F. Clark, published late last year in the British Medical Journal, says that people who suffer E. coli O157:H7 poisoning but do not go on to develop the much more serious complication, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), nevertheless have a 33% greater risk of hypertension, a more than two-fold increase in cardiovascular events and a three-fold increase in the occurrence of kidney impairment.
“Case patients in this outbreak deserve to understand these risks and obtain the annual assessments suggested by the study authors,’’ Pritzker said. “It is time for the company responsible for this outbreak to take action.”Attorney Fred Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or through his food poisoning contact page regarding this E. coli bologna outbreak. Mr. Pritzker is the founding partner of PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a Minneapolis, MN law firm that represents E. coli victims nationwide. Mr. Pritzker has won millions for food poisoning victims and has appeared on national and local news programs to discuss foodborne illness lawsuits and food safety.
